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While Barney prepares for his wedding to a mystery bride, he and Ted reminisce about Punchy's disastrous wedding, including when Marshall and Lily announced they are having a baby. Meanwhile, Robin considers telling Barney she has feelings for him.

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Future Ted begins by telling his kids that timing is everything, and if it weren't for timing, he never would have met their mother at "a wedding." Further defined as "The last wedding I ever thought I would be at.", referencing Barney's wedding.

Flash forward to the wedding , and Barney asks Ted for his assistance in selecting a tie, and reveals his fears that he may have chosen the wrong woman to settle down with. He begins to wonder if this will be the worst wedding ever, but Ted stops Barney and reminds him that they have already been to the worst wedding ever: Punchy's wedding, which Marshall ruined.

Flashback to the present day, September 2011, and Ted is alone in MacLaren's Pub, working on his best man speech for Punchy's wedding. The gang enter, and Ted asks for their advice about his speech. Robin wonders why he's putting so much effort into the speech, and Ted reveals that he's already given a few best man speeches for other high school buddies, and they went horribly.

Ted on the cover of a magazine

Barney tells Ted he should ditch the speech. Ted recently had an article published about him in New York Magazine, and Barney tells him to use that to impress girls.

Robin informs Barney that he shouldn't be giving Ted dating advice, considering he never even called Nora after she gave her his number. Barney said he didn't and the gang joke about him being a chicken. Robin offers to buy a round of drinks, but Lily and Marshall stop her. The two of them not long ago found out Lily is pregnant, but Lily doesn't want to reveal it to anyone until she is three months pregnant. This means she can't drink alcohol, but she also can't let anyone know why she can't, otherwise they might discover her secret.

At Punchy's wedding, Barney plots to use this out-of-state opportunity to try out different plays to seduce women, so that he can use the successful techniques back home in New York. Punchy greets the gang, offering them free drinks. Marshall is forced to secretly drink all of Lily's drinks for her, and very quickly gets drunk.

Robin watches Barney flirt with women , and tries to pretend she doesn't have feelings for Barney. However, Lily sees through this. Robin recounts how their relationship already failed once, and they shouldn't try again. Lily tells her that they have chemistry, and Barney must feel it too, since he never called Nora and is almost intentionally striking out with women tonight.

Meanwhile, Ted is worried about his speech, even more so when he realizes that other wedding guests are hoping that he will have another breakdown. Barney tells Ted he should just brag about the magazine. Ted is too humble to do so, but a drunk Marshall decides to do it for him. Marshall talks Ted up about his article to a few different guests, but quickly gets distracted when he sees different babies.

Lily convinces Robin to either tell Barney her feelings or, if she definitely doesn't want to get back together with him, tell him so that he can move on too. Robin agrees, and approaches him. However before she can speak, Barney pulls her onto the dance floor, and the two dance passionately.

Barney and Robin dance passionately

The two stop dancing, still held in each others arms. Before Robin can tell him how she feels, Barney gets a call from Nora. Before he answers, Barney reveals he actually did call Nora, five times, and asks Robin what he should say to Nora . Robin starts telling him what to say, her words mirroring her exact feelings for Barney. Barney recites every word to Nora, who decides to give Barney a second chance.

Meanwhile, Marshall approaches Lily, holding a baby, and tells her that he can't keep her pregnancy a secret any longer. Lily tells him no, but upon holding the baby, softens up and decides to share the news with the rest of the gang.

Robin spots Ted out on the wedding balcony, and the two share a cigar. Both of them are feeling bad, but Robin doesn't want to talk about why. Ted tells her that while all his high school friends at the wedding have families and kids of their own, Ted only has his career. He admits that he no longer believes that the right woman is out there for him anymore.

Robin tells him to start believing again, and not to cry at his upcoming toast. However, Lily, Marshall and Barney soon come out to the balcony, and Lily reveals she's pregnant.

Soon after, Ted cries in the middle of his speech, while other guests film and laugh at him. Marshall takes the microphone from Ted and tells the audience that Ted's tears are tears of joy, because Lily is pregnant. However, Kelly, Punchy's wife, thinks Marshall is talking about her, and accidentally reveals to the entire audience that she is pregnant. This starts a huge fight between Kelly's and Punchy's fathers, ruining the wedding.

Back at Barney's wedding, Ted comforts Barney by telling him he made the right choice. Lily comes in the room Ted and Barney were talking in and tells Ted that Barney's bride-to-be wants to see him. Ted leaves the room and Lily questions Barney's actual tie, causing him to change it. It is unknown whether he changed his mind on just the tie, or the bride as well.

Barney claims that his plays have an 83% success rate. His fixation with this number was first pointed out in Brunch.

Ted's magazine article mentions him designing a building for the Spokane National Bank, as seen in Aldrin Justice, and reveals that his old architecture firm, introduced in Ted Mosby: Architect, was named Vandelay, Druthers and Brody.

The tragedies in Ted's life that occurred right before he had to give wedding toasts include getting left at the altar by Stella in Shelter Island, being fired from GNB in Old King Clancy, and Mosbius Designs failing in The Leap.

Barney uses ties as a metaphor for his anxieties about getting married. In The Leap, he uses suits as a metaphor for his and Ted's romantic history with Robin.

The cover of Ted's magazine includes an article titled "Willem...Dafoe!" Marshall points out that, and describes how, the actor's name sounds like a frog talking to a parrot in Robots Versus Wrestlers.

Ohh, thank God. Barney needs you right before his wedding, you assume there's at least one dead hooker in the closet. (laughs and discretely checks the closet)

Barney:

Is this one better?

Ted:

Look, the tie is great, and it's perfectly normal to have some pre-wedding jitters.

Barney:

I'm not having jitters. It just occurs to me that once I put this tie on I can never take it off. I have to wear this tie forever, and ever. And sure, this tie is skinny now, but what happens if it gets fat and starts bossing me around? Did I make a mistake, would I have been happier with the other tie? (pause) Ted, can I tell you a big secret?

Ted:

Of course.

Barney:

I'm not really talking about the tie.

Ted:

Yeah, I got that, buddy

Barney:

Here's your toast, single file ladies! No fatties!

Ted:

That's ridiculous.

Barney:

Yeah you're right, it's Cleveland. Single file ladies.

Barney:

Get ready Cleveland. The last man to screw you this hard and then disappear was LeBron James.

—Barney imitates LeBron's chalk toss

Future Ted:

Kids, if there's one big theme to this story-- and I swear, we're totally, almost, not really all that close to the end-- it's timing. Timing is everything. For example, I never would met your mother if it weren't for a wedding. The last wedding I ever thought I'd be at.

Ted:

No wedding will ever, ever be as bad as that one, right?

Barney:

I picked the right tie, didn't I?

Ted:

You nailed it. And hey, just be glad it's not the ducky tie.

Future Ted:

Ooh, the ducky tie. That's a good story kids. I'll get to that. Man, we are not even close to the end.

Barney:

You're a good best man, Ted. You're gonna cry during the toast, aren't you?

Ted:

Oh, I'm totally gonna cry.

Barney:

(door knocks)Come in.

Lily:

Ted, the bride wants to see you.

Ted:

Okay.

Lily:

Really? You're gonna go with that tie? (Barney gets nuts and tries to take it off).

Robin:

Barney and I tried and failed.

Lily:

That was two years ago.

Robin:

Why would I ever go down that road again? It wouldn't even make sense.

Lily:

It doesn't have to make sense. It's chemistry. Look, I've always had a sixth sense about these things. And now that I'm pregnant with this idea in my mind-uterus, I see things even clearer. You and Barney have the kind of chemistry that just doesn't go away.

Robin:

Really? Then why is he trying to LeBron anything that moves?

Lily:

You're the reason he never called Nora. You're the reason he's only test-marketing tonight. And you're the reason he keeps striking out on purpose. Chemistry.

Barney:

The-the-the reason that, um, I called is, uh...

Robin:

To tell you how I feel about you.

Barney:

(repeating over phone) To tell you how I feel about you.

Robin:

I know we didn't work out the first time...

Barney:

I know we didn't work out the first time ...

Robin:

and I know it doesn't make any sense...

Barney:

and I know it doesn't make any sense...

Robin:

but I can't shake the feeling that we belong together...

Barney:

but I can't shake this feeling that we belong together...

Robin:

Is there any part of you that wants to try again?

Barney:

Is there any part of you that wants to try again?

Future Ted:

Oo, the Ducky Tie, that's a good story! Man, we are not even close to the end!

In Sandcastles in the Sand, it is implied that Punchy's dad was recently deceased, with Ted offering condolences. However, in this episode he is alive and healthy at Punchy's wedding

It is possible that Punchy's dad had a serious health problem before but didn't die.

Future Ted incorrectly mentions that the destruction of the Arcadian took place in the fall while Barney's Blog: Boom Goes The Dynamite states the date as September 4, which is technically still Summer.

While September 4th is still Summer, if it was a particularly cold day Ted could have misremembered it as Fall.

Ted was also a professor at the time of the Arcadian's destruction. Due to universities starting classes at the end of August / beginning of September, he could be used to referencing that time of year as Fall.